


Clear Benson

by 18lzytwner



Series: Law & Order SVU Second Series [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2019-07-07 02:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 21,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15898650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: Things are going smoothly after Nick's departure until Olivia gets some news regarding her status as Noah's adoptive parent. Things head in a downward spiral quickly leaving the team to prove that Olivia is the member of the NYPD everyone knows her to be before she is arrested and sent to jail. E/O, of course.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been six weeks since Noah's adoption was finalized and Detective Nick Amaro left for Los Angeles. Sergeant Olivia Benson sat at her desk, going over paperwork from the latest solved case at SVU. Her hand rested on her not visible yet baby bump, which she still couldn't believe would soon be here. Her doctor had confirmed that she was about ten weeks along and though the doctor was not happy about her not being confined to desk duty, due to her age and the fact that this was her first pregnancy, she had told her that she was glad to see things progressing so smoothly.

"Sergeant?" A very familiar voice drew her eyes from the paperwork to the doorway where the detective stood.

"Yes Detective Stabler?" She still smiled, every time she said it. IAB had come through, or rather Tucker had. She had never thought she'd be thinking that considering both of hers and Elliot's history with him was a rocky one, to say the least.

"I just got a call from Bobby Herd's victim. She thinks that someone is following her and is afraid to leave her apartment," Elliot smiled back despite the news.

"Take Carisi and check it out. We need her to be able to stay focused and testify next week. I'll alert Barba. If it turns out to be true, we might need to move her to a safe house," she said.

"On it," Elliot nodded and was back out of the doorway. Olivia went to pick up her desk phone to call the ADA when it rang on its own. Shrugging she picked it up.

"Benson," she said.

"Olivia, it's Rafi," he hardly ever used his nickname in front of the detectives but when he did, they knew something big was going on.

"What is it?" She asked; the apprehension in her voice gave her away.

"There was an incident at Rikers. Johnny D. is dead," Barba relayed. Olivia heaved a sigh. The death of someone was not something one got relieved about but when it came to Johnny D. it cleared up a lot of problems.

"How'd it happen?" The Sergeant asked, wondering why Barba had made that sound like a bad thing.

"He was shanked in a fight in the lunch room. They caught the guy but…" his words fell on deaf ears as Tucker entered the SVU bullpen and she could see him coming.

"IAB is here," she told Barba.

"Don't say anything without counsel. I'm coming down right now," the ADA said before hanging up. Olivia hung up her phone and lifted herself from her seat. She met Tucker at her doorway.

"We need to talk," he said.

"I thought we weren't getting weekly checkups from IAB. I'm sending all of Elliot's work through the proper channels. No impropriety is occurring," the Sergeant eyed him.

"For once Stabler isn't our concern here," Tucker told her. She gave him a confused look. What else could his visit be about?

"Sergeant Benson, you are hereby relieved of your duties and placed on administrative leave without pay. Turn in your badge and your gun," Tucker said.

"What?!" Olivia was dumbfounded and the IAB Lieutenant could tell that she had no idea what the hell was going on.

"You are under suspicion in the death of Johnny D.," he informed her.

"How? I haven't been to Rikers since before the Carl Gregg incident. And since when does suspicion get me relieved of my duties?" She demanded.

"Since you are the adoptive parent of his son, Noah. Child Protective Services is en-route to your apartment. Noah will be placed in their custody," the Lieutenant told her. Olivia practically collapsed right there. Fin saw what was going on and he quickly texted "911" to Elliot's phone before confronting Tucker.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Detective Tutuola, congratulations on passing the Sergeant's exam," Tucker pulled out a badge from his pocket and handed it to Fin.

"You'll be heading up this unit until such time as a proper replacement for Sergeant Benson can be found," he said.

"What?" Fin was dumbfounded. Rollins just walked back in from lunch to find the scene before her and immediately went to Fin's side.

"What the hell is going on?" The blonde asked.

"You two are obstructing me from doing my duties. Sergeant Benson, your gun and your badge!" Tucker was getting worked up into a lather. Olivia took off her badge and her gun and handed them to the IAB Lieutenant.

"Take any personal items that you need from your office. I am to escort you out," Tucker told her. Olivia, in a fog, turned into her office and grabbed the things she needed, one of which was a picture of her and Noah.

"Lieutenant Tucker, what is going on here?" This time it was Barba who was asking the questions.

"Just stand back and let me do my job, Barba. I'll alert the DA's office when I have enough evidence to proceed," Tucker said.

"Proceed with what?" Rollins asked.

"Murder charges against Sergeant Benson," that last statement was too much and Olivia passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on Baby Girl. Wake up," Fin was trying to encourage the downed Sergeant whom he had moved to her couch. The paramedics had been called and Barba had effectively pushed Tucker out of the office and out of the bullpen.

"I got rid of Tucker," he said as he returned to the office.

"Good. That bastard has to be insane," Rollins was really fuming. Everyone knew that Johnny D. was going to be a headache for the Sergeant but she had been the one that insisted upon Noah being able to find out about his birth parents. Moreover, everyone knew her dedication to the job. She would never put Noah or her job in jeopardy.

"What have we got?" The first paramedic asked as he entered the room. He was a tall, muscular man, who seemed all about his job. Fin took him for former military given his posture and shaved haircut.

"Sergeant Benson just collapsed. She's pregnant," Tutuola explained.

"Ok, let's take a look," he said. The moment his stethoscope touched Olivia's skin she bolted upright before groaning and falling back down on the couch.

"Whoa, easy there. Can you tell me your name?" The paramedic asked.

"Olivia," she said.

"Good. My name is John. My partner, Abbie, and I are going to check you out ok? Your heart seems fine but we need to check your blood pressure," he tried to reassure her. His smaller in stature, dark-skinned, partner, Abbie, got out the blood pressure cuff and took a reading.

"Why is the room spinning?" Olivia asked. Fin grabbed the nearby trash can, afraid she was going to vomit.

"That's because your blood pressure is pretty low. When was the last time you ate anything?" Abbie asked.

"Just a little while ago. It's not lunch time yet," Olivia said. Abbie eyed her partner and he nodded.

"We're going to get you onto the stretcher ok? I think we better get you to the hospital and get them to run some tests," John explained. Abbie headed out into the hallway and snagged the gurney. When she was leaving, Olivia looked like she was going to object when Fin said,

"I'll ride with you." He then turned to Rollins and said,

"When Elliot gets here, tell him where we went and what is going on. If I know him, he's racing here as quickly as he can but he had to finish up with a witness."

"On it. We'll see you there," the blonde nodded. The two paramedics quickly helped the Sergeant onto the stretcher and wheeled her out into the hallway, Fin in tow. Rollins scooped up Olivia's personal effects that she had dropped and took them to Elliot's desk.

"What is going on Barba?" She asked, once her task was complete.

"The guy who shanked Johnny D. claims that Olivia ordered him to kill Johnny and in exchange she would use her influence to get the charges against him reduced," the ADA explained.

"What?! That's stupid! The Sergeant would never do that! Tucker has to know its crap too. Taking the word of a convict over her?" Rollins was incensed.

"I know. There has to be more to it but my guess is that IAB is holding back from me. I probably only received the information I did because a friend of mine who would be assigned the case thought I should know," Barba told her. Just then, Elliot rushed into the bullpen with Carisi on his heels.

"What happened?" He asked.

"They took Liv to the hospital. Come on, I'm driving," Rollins said. Carisi promised to stay behind, as someone had to man the phones. Rollins told him she and Fin would be back as quickly as they could and then she and Elliot rushed out of the precinct. Barba shook his head and headed back to his car. He had some digging to do at his office.

Rollins had put on the lights and sirens and she and Elliot had reached the hospital in record time. The blonde could tell that Elliot was putting on a brave face but by the way he was gripping the poor door handle during the ride, she knew he was a mess.

"We need to see Sergeant Olivia Benson," she flashed her badge at the nurses' station.

"The doctor is examining her now. Has her family been notified?" The middle-aged nurse asked.

"I'm her family," Elliot lied.

"All righty. Well take a seat and I'll get you when the doctor is done checking on her," the nurse pointed to the waiting room and the two detectives went to wait. Rollins knew that Elliot would not be sitting down but she had to tell him what had happened.

"Elliot, we need to talk," Amanda said.

"How could this happen? She was fine this morning when I left the precinct," he shook his head, the pacing already beginning.

"It might have something to do with what Tucker said to her this morning," Rollins told him. Elliot stopped pacing and gave her a look. She gestured to the seat next to her and he took it.

"What was that bastard doing at the precinct?" He asked.


	3. Chapter 3

Barba flipped through the paperwork that sat on his desk. He couldn't believe what he was reading and he looked up at the person who stood in his office.

"How'd you get your hands on this info?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just be happy I was able to make a copy of it. You keep it to yourself, although I'm sure that Stabler and Fin will be all over this," the red head told him.

"Rollins and Carisi aren't happy either. IAB will be lucky if they get out of this without someone going off the rails," Barba said.

"I've got Judge Linden already up to speed. She says she'll keep an eye on the home that Noah was placed in but she can't get too much more involved than that. She was furious when I told her that they suspected Olivia of what they suspect her of," she replied.

"Well Casey, I appreciate you helping out like this but I don't want you to get in any kind of trouble," the ADA looked worried.

"Don't worry about me. I can handle it. I'm off to see how Liv is doing. Let me know if you need anything else," she winked.

"Thanks again," Barba smiled and stood as the former SVU ADA left the room. He then took to pacing. He was torn between calling Fin and telling him what he found out and just keeping it to himself.

"Screw it," the ADA said, grabbing his coat and heading out of his office.

* * *

Meanwhile, Elliot was left alone with Olivia as Rollins and Fin had reluctantly had to get back to work. The doctor was finished examining the pregnant woman and had taken blood samples. He promised to be right back, though the blood results wouldn't be back for a couple of days. In the meantime, Olivia's blood pressure had been stabilized and she'd been given some food to boost her blood sugar levels.

"You gave me a good scare, you know that?" Elliot asked.

"Oh El, I…" Olivia started but didn't finish as she began to cry. The look on her face told Elliot that she was furious at the craziness of her hormones.

"Hey, it's ok. You're still Badass Benson. Always will be," he winked.

"What are we going to do? They've taken Noah. They think I had Johnny D. killed. And to top it all off my body is doing whatever the heck its doing!" Olivia was ready to punch something. Her emotions were all over the map and it certainly wasn't helping her or the baby. Just then the doctor poked his head in and gave the couple a slight smile.

"All righty. We have some things to discuss if you're up for it," the medical professional said. He was an older man, nearing his mid-fifties, with thinning hair, glasses, and a warm, comforting smile.

"You might as well lay it on us," Elliot said, just as frustrated as Olivia at their current predicament.

"While the low blood pressure is not unusual for women who become pregnant, the low blood sugar levels are. Typically gestational diabetes doesn't appear until you're twenty-four weeks along. Since you have fourteen weeks to go to that point, I'm suggesting that between now and when we get the test results back, Olivia should go on bed rest. I have a couple of sheets that will help you plan meals so we can try to regulate your blood sugar without medication," he explained.

"Doctor…" Olivia started.

"Please call me Patrick. Only my mother calls me Doctor," he teased.

"Patrick, is the baby going to be ok?" She asked.

"While gestational diabetes sounds scary, it is quite controllable. Given your overall health, I would say that you and the baby will be fine but that's why I wanted to run those other blood tests to make sure nothing else is going on. It could simply be given your age and what your body is used to, is not enough for the baby and you need to take in more food. So for the next week, I would suggest bed rest, as little stress as possible, and the diet I have outlined in these sheets," Patrick handed the papers over to Elliot.

"When can I take her home?" The detective asked.

"Tonight. I just want to make sure she doesn't have any more spells or something else doesn't crop up. Do you guys have any other questions?" Patrick wanted to know.

"Will you be sending everything over to my OB/GYN, Doctor Kim?" Olivia questioned.

"Indeed. I put a call into her when we received your medical records from your insurance. She will probably want you to visit her once the test results have come back," he said. Olivia nodded and the doctor could seem to tell that something else was going on, however he didn't press.

"Thank you Patrick," Elliot stood and shook his hand.

"You're quite welcome. The nurses will be in periodically to check on things and when I'm satisfied, they'll help Olivia get discharged," Patrick smiled and then left the room. Not long after he left, Casey knocked on the door.

"So I hear Liv was laying down on the job," she teased.

"Well you know me. I need my naps every now and then," Olivia chuckled slightly, trying to keep the mood light, unsure if Casey knew what was going on.

"Seems IAB doesn't see it that way, though, huh?" The red head got serious.

"No. What are we going to do?" Olivia asked her friend.

"What you're going to do is keep your mouth shut. Let IAB go on its witch hunt and when they find nothing, we'll get custody of Noah back," Casey said.

"We?" Elliot gave her a look.

"Did I stutter Stabler? If IAB asks, I'm your lawyer and I'll do all the talking," she winked. It was a good thing the former SVU ADA had stopped by as Tucker knocked on the door before entering. Elliot was on his feet immediately.

"You have a lot of balls coming here Tucker," he practically growled.


	4. Chapter 4

"I could say the same for you Stabler if she wasn't carrying your baby," Tucker retorted. Stabler scowled at him and was about to say something when Casey spoke up.

"If you've come here to ask about the murder in question, my client chooses not to answer any of your questions. These charges are ridiculous and completely unfounded. The fact that IAB is willing to take the word of a convicted felon over a decorated officer such as Olivia is unconscionable," the red head said.

"We're lucky that I was assigned to this case," Tucker ground out.

"Lucky? There shouldn't even be a case. As far as everyone in this room is concerned, the murder of Johnny D. was a public service. You can't tell me that IAB seriously thinks otherwise," Elliot stood up.

"IAB can't take anything for granted considering what has been going on across the country. There can be absolutely no look of impropriety otherwise we're going to look just as bad as those other police departments. The NYPD has always held itself to a higher standard and you both should know that. I have been placed in charge of the investigation and I will do my best. One PP put me on this detail because they know I have history with you. They aren't sure if they can trust Olivia after William Lewis' trial and the media frenzy that ensued," Tucker said.

"Of all the…" Casey was about to lose it.

"I know your anger. I'm just as mad but we must keep cooler heads. We all know you're being set up. Who would want to do that to you?" The Lieutenant asked.

"The only people I can think of would be Johnny D.'s crew or the Regetti Crime Family," Olivia answered truthfully.

"Oi," Casey shook her head.

"My sentiments exactly. You know how to pick 'em Liv," Tucker shook his head too.

"Comes with the job," Olivia just said.

"I'll get Noah moved into protective custody. In the meantime, take care of yourself and I'll be in touch," with that the Lieutenant from IAB left the room.

"Not that I'm complaining but when did Tucker join our side? I mean he helped me get reinstated and now he's looking out for you," Elliot gave her a look.

"After you left. He and I developed a friendship and he helps to keep me informed of One PP's movements against the unit," Olivia responded.

"Nice work Liv," Casey smiled. This was like having an extra ace up their sleeves. Who better than IAB to clear the Sergeant?

"Yes, good work," Elliot smiled slightly but Olivia could tell that bringing up his absence didn't make him feel good, as well it shouldn't.

"Well I'll leave you two to get this situation all figured out. Take good care of my goddaughter, will ya?" Casey asked.

"Goddaughter?" Olivia gave her a look.

"Well who else is going to be the little tyke's godmother?" Casey teased before heading out the door. Elliot chuckled and then sat back down.

"What if it really is Johnny D.'s crew? Or the Regetti Crime Family?" Olivia asked, suddenly very concerned for everyone's' safety. After all, she hadn't given it much thought until now.

"We'll handle it like everything else, together," he smiled, trying to ease her fears. Still deep down, he knew he needed to let Fin know what was going on. This was going to get a lot worse before it got better.


	5. Chapter 5

"Thanks for meeting me," Elliot said as Fin approached. He had called the now Sergeant and they had agreed to meet at the bar down the street from the precinct. Elliot could not work the case since it involved Olivia but then again the whole unit wasn't supposed to be working on it. They needed a spot where they could not be overhead by other cops and this was a great place for it.

"Anything for Baby Girl, you know that. How is she holding up?" Fin wanted to know as he slid into a chair across from Elliot at one of the corner tables.

"Well as strong as she is, she's worried that whoever is trying to set her up is trying to steal Noah and put her in prison. Then she's worried that whatever is going on with her health is going to hurt the baby. It's a lot to worry about. I think she's partially glad I left so she could cry," Elliot admitted. Olivia wasn't alone however as he's called Casey to stay with her. The red head wasn't a cop but she was more than capable of handling herself with Elliot's backup weapon. The bartender's whistle snapped Elliot from his thoughts and he headed up to the bar for their drinks, which were ready. The former Marine got up and came back with two beers and then they got down to brass tax.

"Agreed. Barba got the name of the hump that supposedly killed Johnny D. for Olivia, Max Winters. He's got a rap sheet as long as my arm. He was looking at assault and burglary charges but given his sheet his lawyer figures that the judge was going to throw the book at him when he was sentenced next week," Fin explained what he'd found out.

"And where exactly did he and Liv cross paths?" Elliot asked.

"I have no idea. I can't find a connection between them. That brings me to my other concern," Fin said. There were plenty of concerns floating around, what could he possibly have to add to the pile?

"Our witness against Bobby Herd, Michelle Simmons, was put into protective custody after Baby Girl went to the hospital. Carisi identified the guy who she said was following her as Herd's brother, Tony," the Sergeant explained.

"Shit," Elliot cursed.

"My thoughts exactly. You're off the case, per IAB. They don't want you anywhere near this one until we need you for court," Fin told him.

"It's just as well. Michelle should have someone's undivided attention. Who do they have staying with her?" His friend wanted to know.

"Carisi, Rollins, and myself will be switching on and off. They want us busy to stay away from Liv's case. It's just as well because that stalking charge that we arrested Tony on probably won't hold up at his arraignment tomorrow morning. That being said, I'm wondering if this guy has connections and is trying to get at Liv," Fin said.

"Do the brothers have connections to Johnny D.?" Elliot was sure that they would have found that out when Johnny D. got busted.

"I don't think so. I'm running some searches though to see if our hump has connections. Johnny D.'s case was all over the news and so was Liv. They probably figure the charges against her won't hold but in the meantime his lawyer can argue that Herd's case is tainted because Liv worked on it. If she's a dirty cop, then every case she ever worked on is on question," Fin shook his head and then swigged his beer.

"I better alert Tucker. He's going to want to look into this," Elliot practically choked on the words. He was still having trouble getting a hold of the new status of the IAB Lieutenant.

"Not a bad idea. If he's really playing ball on our side then he should look at the Herd brothers first," Fin said.

"All right he'll be my first call when I get home," Elliot swigged the remaining part of his beer and stood up.

"Thanks for meeting. I'll let you know how Liv's doing as regularly as I can," he said.

"And I'll try to make sure that the Herd brothers don't get away with anything before Michelle can testify," Fin finished his beer and then stood as well. They had their work cut out for them. Just then Fin's phone rang and he quickly answered it. Elliot started heading to the door before Fin stopped him.

"Michelle is telling Carisi she wants to recant. He can't get her to listen to him," the Sergeant said.

"I can't get involved, you just said so," Elliot pointed out.

"Anything I can say that will help?" Fin asked.

"Remind her why she's doing this. Herd held her for a week, beat, raped, and practically killed her. He'll do it again if given the chance," Elliot said. Fin nodded and they then split up, one heading for home, the other heading for the safe house. Elliot's phone rang and he quickly picked it up.

"Stabler,"

"Well well Detective Stabler, good to see that you're working hard to keep Olivia safe. You know as crazy as that red head is, I don't think she'll be able to protect Miss Benson," the voice on the other end of the phone said. Elliot stopped in his tracks.

"Who is this?" He demanded.

"You're the detective, you figure it out. I'm only going to say this once, so pay attention. Olivia will take the fall for the murder of Johnny D. or I will go after everyone in her life. That includes your children with your former wife. If you think I'm bluffing, you better listen to this," the man moved the receiver away from his own face and put it to someone else's.

"Dad?" The voice was unmistakable.

"Maureen?!" Elliot clenched his fist.

"Yes, your little Maureen. Now if you want to see her alive again you will have Olivia confess to IAB in the morning. Good night Detective," with that the phone call ended.


	6. Chapter 6

Olivia woke up to the sound of machines beeping in the background. Looking around her, she realized that everything that had happened the night before wasn't a dream. It had really happened and things had gone from bad to worse.

"Hey Liv," El smiled slightly, looking like he hadn't slept a wink in the chair next to her hospital bed.

"Did you make the call?" She asked, afraid but willing to do anything to get this over with and protect Maureen.

"Tucker says he'll be here at nine," he nodded, noting that was but a short fifteen minutes away.

"Good," she nodded. Thoughts buzzed around in her head as she tried to piece it all together.

"They didn't have any luck with tracing the phone number that called me last night," Elliot told her, knowing she was thinking about the case.

"That figures. Our guy is smart enough to set this whole thing up, he's not going to take any chances," Olivia said. Just then Elliot's phone rang and he quickly answered it. It was a short call and not much was said on his end.

"Tony Herd was just denied bail by the judge. Casey was able to make a fairly good argument, I guess," he told her.

"What? No way he gets denied bail on witness intimidation or stalking for his first offense," Liv gave him a look.

"It probably had something to do with the unpaid parking tickets and DWI he committed last month," Elliot explained. Olivia rolled her eyes just as the doctor opened the door and gave a slight smile.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Fine, I guess," she shrugged. Shortly after Elliot told her about his phone call the night before, Olivia started having shortness of breath and her blood pressure dropped like a rock. Normally, it would have just been a slight issue and practically normal response, if she hadn't already collapsed earlier in the day and hadn't been pregnant.

"I know it isn't easy. We'll get this figured out," Patrick promised.

"I hope so," Olivia said. A knock on the door made them all look toward the opening to the room.

"Our nine o'clock is here," Elliot said.

"Make it brief. We need to run some more tests. I want to make sure that Olivia isn't having any heart trouble," Patrick told them. They nodded and the doctor walked out of the door, letting Tucker in.

"So what's going on? Why is Liv back here?" He asked. Elliot hadn't said a word over the phone, afraid it might be bugged.

"Someone has kidnapped Maureen and he said if Olivia doesn't confess that she had Max Winters kill Johnny D, that he'll hurt my daughter," Elliot said.

"Who else have you told?" Tucker immediately questioned.

"I haven't told anyone except Casey. I had Fin try to figure out where the number came from but I didn't tell him why," Elliot explained.

"Good. The hospital was a good call. We can't take her to jail until she's released," Tucker was glad for the quick thinking.

"There is something really wrong with me physically. Elliot didn't have much of a choice when I was having trouble breathing and I started getting dizzy again," Olivia spoke up. The Lieutenant turned to her, visibly concerned.

"The doctors are running more tests," she explained. He nodded and then asked,

"How did this guy get your phone number and how does he know about Liv?"

"The phone number was probably pulled out of Maureen but I have no idea how he knew about Liv unless the guy was in on it," Elliot said. Tucker narrowed his eyes for a moment. There was something going on in that head of his.

"I spoke with the FBI. The Regetti Crime Family is still in a shambles and Carmine is still in the wind. It would be stupid for him to try anything this elaborate anyway. My guess is that he'd have Olivia whacked rather than set up a kidnapping," the Lieutenant posited.

"I agree as odd as that sounds," Olivia said.

"That leaves Johnny D.'s gang and the Herd family," Elliot chimed in.

"Both Herd brothers are behind bars as of this morning. They don't have any more siblings so if they are at fault, that would leave a cousin, a friend, or their father," Tucker frowned, leaning more toward Johnny D.'s gang; retribution and helping someone on the outside take over was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

"Yes but how any of them would find out…" Olivia stopped in mid-sentence.

"What is it?" Elliot asked, confused at her stopping.

"The defense attorney for Bobby; he claimed that Michelle wasn't such a good witness considering she came onto his client," she said.

"Defense attorneys say that kind of stuff all the time," Tucker wasn't catching on, not knowing the particulars of the case.

"Michelle was kidnapped on her way home from work; her purse was found the next morning spewed out all over the sidewalk. It was well after dark and the streets were mostly deserted. She wouldn't have come onto him," Elliot pointed out.

"Exactly. She would have used that can of pepper spray that was with her things on the bastard, if she'd seen him coming," Olivia said.

"So if there was some time that he thought she was hitting on him, he must have followed her," Tucker was getting it.

"Exactly. We thought it was a crime of opportunity. What if Tony isn't the only one good at stalking?" She pointed out.

"Older brother teach their younger brothers the darnedest things," Elliot said.

"Especially if they had a good teacher," Tucker frowned.


	7. Chapter 7

Lieutenant Tucker drove back to his office hoping that his conversation with Olivia and Elliot would be enough to put things in motion. They agreed that on paper it would look like Olivia confessed to having Johnny D. whacked. He had Elliot try to redial the number that called him the night before but it had already been disconnected.

Now as he strode into his boss's office, he wondered if he wouldn't get laughed at. After all, they had no idea how the kidnapper would know that Olivia had confessed to the crime that she didn't actually commit.

"What is it Tucker? You said you had developments in the Johnny D. murder," Captain Leopold said. The Captain was nearing retirement and he looked to Tucker as his possible successor. Having spent so many years on the force, he knew when the slightly younger man came to him for help, there was trouble. The Lieutenant nodded and quickly explained the situation, figuring that if he couldn't trust his boss, then he could trust no one.

"So you think that Sergeant Benson is being set up by the Herd family in order to get both of their sons out of jail?" Leopold asked.

"Considering Sergeant Benson's record and her years of service, I find the allegation she had Johnny D. killed offensive, especially when we consider the perps she just encountered on the last case handled by her unit," Tucker told him.

"I tend to agree. Captain Cragen would not have stuck his neck out for her and her partner as often as he did if they were not worth it. However, I find the timing of all of this very troubling," Leopold said.

"As do I but I think it simply comes as a result of Johnny D.'s arrest being made national news. The Herd boys have troubling records and I'm going to dig into their family history and see what I can turn up. Detective Stabler promised to call me as soon as he received a call from the kidnappers," Tucker explained.

"Sergeant Benson's team arresting Johnny D. was a big deal for this department. I don't want it ruined by some overzealous Sergeant and her need to become a mother," Leopold frowned.

"Sir, all due respect, Sergeant Benson has put the job before just about everything else in her life. She is a dedicated cop and would never put family above the job. Hell she notified Johnny D. about Noah," the Lieutenant pointed out.

"Fair enough. So how is the kidnapper going to know she "confessed"?" The Captain wondered.

"We're guessing that he's been following her around. He was able to describe who was over at her apartment with ease," Tucker said.

"So he's ballsy enough to trail a cop from a good distance and kidnap another cop's daughter. Well that should narrow down the suspect list," Leopold commented.

"One would think. Until this guy is caught, I think we need to keep things tight to the vest. We have no idea how some of the personal information is getting passed around," the younger man told him.

"Agreed. Carry on and keep me informed," The Captain told him.

"Yes, sir," Tucker nodded and then exited the room. He hadn't even reached his desk when his phone rang. It was a text from a number he didn't recognize. Opening it up, he realized that Elliot had purchased a disposable cell. The message read  _"This is Stabler. Kidnapper wants confirmation of Liv's arrest. Won't hand Maureen over until then. Here's the number he called from: 212-555-3418."_

" _What kind of confirmation?"_  Tucker sent back.

" _My guess is a public one."_  Elliot responded.

" _Prepare her. I'll do it myself."_  Tucker replied, knowing full well that this could end the Sergeant's career.


	8. Chapter 8

"The NYPD is asking for your help tonight ladies and gentlemen. Maureen Stabler has been missing for over twelve hours. If you have seen her or have any ideas regarding her whereabouts, you are to contact Manhattan Special Victims Unit at the number on your screen. Please it is urgent we find Maureen. She is asthmatic and needs her inhaler which her mother found on the floor of their home," Lieutenant Tucker announced as the picture of the missing Stabler girl flashed onto the screen.

"Lieutenant! Isn't it odd that she left the item at home?" One of the reporters in the crowd at the press conference being held on SVU's front steps asked.

"It could have fallen out of her pocket on accident," Tucker said.

"Could she have picked up another one at a pharmacy?" Another reporter wondered.

"It's not out of the question but since we haven't been able to find any transaction locally, we're making this plea. Now the mother would like to say a few words," Tucker explained.

"Maureen, your family loves you very much. Please come home. Your dad is in the hospital and needs to see you right away," Kathy spoke into the microphone. She looked as though she was going to fall apart and Tucker hoped that people would certainly help in the search. The nurse had been furious at first when the Lieutenant approached her about making this kind of announcement until she realized that Maureen was in fact missing. The girl no longer lived at home and though they texted every day, a text could be easily faked. This looked like the only way to try to save Maureen without getting Olivia in trouble. Tucker was betting that the kidnapper hadn't figured on Kathy reporting her daughter missing and the added "made-up" medical condition might cause the man to dump her near a pharmacy. In the meantime, Tucker had had Olivia handcuffed to the bed in the hospital and officers stationed outside her door to make anyone passing by believe she'd been arrested.

"Thank you for your time," the Lieutenant started to close the press conference.

"Lieutenant! Does this disappearance have anything to do with the death of Johnny D.? Has his crew picked up where he left off?" A third reporter questioned.

"We have no reason to believe that it is tied to the case at this time. I cannot say more about an ongoing investigation," Tucker told them.

"There is a rumor floating around that someone has been arrested for the death of Johnny D. Is that true?" A fourth reporter asked, since his colleague opened the door.

"There has been an arrest but that is all I'm at liberty to discuss. This press conference is over," with that he and Kathy left the podium and scooted back in to the safety of the precinct behind them.

"Do you think it worked? What will stop him from harming Maureen?" Kathy asked.

"We've got everyone in the city searching for her now and we've confirmed an arrest. My guess is that we'll hear from this guy really soon," Tucker said, not really answering the question.

"The phones are already ringing off the hook," Fin said as the two of them walked into the bullpen.

"Hopefully they lead to something quickly," Carisi was trying to be optimistic. The team had not been filled in on why Maureen was missing and Tucker felt it was better that way despite the fact that they all knew that Maureen no longer lived at home and that the girl had never had asthma. Still for now, it was better to play along with IAB's game rather than mess up any chances of finding the eldest Stabler girl.

"I've got something!" Elliot came out of Olivia's office, which Fin had refused to move into. He had been forced to leave the hospital when Olivia had been "arrested". He knew that Olivia was safe at the hospital and she had begged him to find Maureen and get her back safely, though he didn't really need to be pushed. Maureen was in this mess because of his job and he knew that he couldn't let her pay the price because some psycho thought it was a good idea to kidnap a cop's daughter. However, he couldn't help that feeling in the back of his mind that maybe the kidnapper would not hesitate to harm Maureen. He'd seen too many kidnapping cases go south and he did not want to even fathom that. He had to stay positive.

"What is it?" Rollins asked.

"An address down on the piers!" He quickly showed it to the team and his heart sunk. A perfect place to dump a body.

"Take Rollins and back up. Fin, Carisi, stick to the phones in case it's bogus," Tucker barked. Fin eyeballed Tucker but agreed. Rollins and Elliot rushed out of the building with half a dozen uniforms in tow.


	9. Chapter 9

Olivia fiddled with her fingers, picking away at the skin surrounding the nails. It was an old habit she thought she had gotten rid of but it seemed like there was enough stress to go around and old habits die hard. There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal one of the uniforms from outside her door.

"Come in Officer," she acknowledged him.

"Yes ma'am," he smiled slightly and moved inside the room before heading her way.

"Everything ok?" She asked, half afraid of what the answer might be.

"No word on Maureen I'm afraid. It seems the address that Detective Stabler was given was a hoax," he explained as he took a seat in the chair next to the bed.

"Oh Lord," Olivia heaved a sigh. She could feel the bile rising in her throat. The longer Maureen was missing the better the chance she was no longer breathing.

"I'm sorry. You know I remember something you said to me when my Tina went missing. You said to never give up hope. That you and your squad were on it and you'd find her. It was so reassuring despite the fact that you and I both know the longer someone is missing how things can happen," the officer told her. Her focus shifted and she looked right at him. He did seem familiar but she couldn't place it until she saw his nametag.

"Officer Tom Michaels?" Olivia couldn't believe it. The squad had worked Tina's case eight years ago and thankfully the girl had been found alive. She had been traumatized, as most victims were, but she had gotten phone calls from Tom's wife, Sharon, on how Tina's progress in therapy was going. It was then that she realized the phone calls had stopped about two years ago.

"That's me. Lieutenant Tucker said he needed someone to guard you and I volunteered. Figured you could use a friendly face," Tom smiled.

"I could. Thank you," she smiled back, partially afraid that there was a deeper meaning behind the phone calls stopping. There was another knock on the door and the doctor entered the room.

"I'll leave you to it," Tom moved from the chair and headed back to his post before any more could be said.

"I have some of the test results back and I've put in a call to a specialist," Patrick explained.

"A specialist? How bad am I? Is the baby going to be ok?" Olivia quickly asked.

"I think we've caught everything in the early stages which is good. Now, it seems your body had recovered fairly well from your traumatic experience but given all the injuries you sustained, it also seems like something was missed," Patrick started.

"What Lewis did to me was over a year ago. How could I not be healed?" Olivia interrupted him, concerned that she had an idea of what he was going to say.

"Your liver and kidneys are not functioning where they should be. We're not talking organ failure or anything but for a pregnant woman the enzyme levels are lower than I would like them. I think the added strain of having two to support is showing us right where the problems are which is a good thing," Patrick continued.

"What does my liver and kidneys have to do with my blood sugar and blood pressure?" Olivia asked.

"That's the second part. You have early onset gestational diabetes which is why I'm calling in the specialist. It's not a condition that usually manifests so early in the pregnancy but since you're having other difficulties we need to know what is causing it or if it is causing your liver and kidney trouble," he finished up. It was a lot to absorb and Olivia sat in the bed unsure of what to say. The doctor seemed to sense this and he sat down in the chair that Officer Michaels had been occupying previously.

"Those days where your body was sustained on alcohol alone took a toll on your liver. It had a chance to recover while you were on pain pills because you couldn't ingest any more alcohol until you were off of them. Have you resumed drinking? I ask not judgmentally but so I can put all the factors together," Patrick explained.

"Mostly wine. I haven't been able to touch anything else since…" the Sergeant swallowed hard.

"Ok. That's fine. About how much on average per day would you say? One glass? Two?" He questioned. She froze. The fact of the matter was she'd caught herself doing half to three quarters of a bottle in one night after work shortly after getting off the pain pills. It was only when Noah came into her life that she made sure to only have one glass at dinner.

"I was probably drinking three for about four months after the painkillers. I'm down to one a night for the last six months or so," Olivia finally admitted.

"Ok. With that I can start somewhere and get a better idea of what is going on with the enzyme levels. I want to hold off on doing any biopsies or anything like that until I hear from the specialist. Should I call someone so you can talk to them?" Patrick wanted to know.

"I need you to call Casey Novak," the Sergeant told him. It hurt that she couldn't tell Elliot but everything had to look as though she was actually under arrest and her speaking to her attorney would not raise any suspicions. He nodded and then left her to her thoughts. 


	10. Chapter 10

Elliot pounded his fist on the desk. Every lead that came in had been bogus and it had been almost twelve hours since he'd last heard from the kidnappers. He was trying to stop himself from thinking like a logical cop would but the thought that his eldest daughter could be dead. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up.

"We'll find her," Fin said reassuringly as he set a container of Chinese takeout down on the detective's desk.

"I was sure that whoever had her would let her go after Kathy made her plea. Why is this guy doing this?" Elliot asked.

"Pretty stupid to kidnap a cop's kid. Does this have something to do with that phone number you wanted me to run earlier?" Fin pressed. Elliot looked around and saw that Carisi and Rollins were occupied with phone calls.

"You have to keep this quiet," the former Marine said before jerking his head toward the interrogation room. The two slipped away and Elliot filled him in on everything.

"These guys really have it out for Baby Girl," Fin said. Elliot was about to say something else when Tucker busted into the room.

"Stabler! Out here now!" Elliot rolled his eyes and followed the IAB Lieutenant. Fin came after them, his thoughts a jumbled mess.

"Maureen!" Elliot shouted. Rollins had been comforting the girl but she left the blonde and ran to her father.

"Daddy!" She hadn't called him that in a long time but given the circumstances it was great to hear it as he pulled her into a hug.

"Oh sweetheart. How'd you get here? Are you ok?" Elliot asked.

"He just dropped me off. Told me to hand you this message," Maureen pulled an envelope out of her pocket and handed it to Elliot who then yelled for someone to get CSU over here on the double. Fin called for an ambulance to come and take Maureen to the hospital so she could be checked out. Tucker took the letter with a gloved hand from Elliot and the detective was told to go with his daughter to the hospital. Rollins offered to pick up Kathy and escort her to the hospital and Tucker agreed before ordering Carisi to head back over to the safe house to watch Michelle Simmons. She hadn't been left alone but it was definitely preferable that she have a friendly face to see.

"What are we looking for?" The CSU tech, Marty, asked Tucker who had pulled him into Olivia's office.

"Fingerprints and I want the handwriting analyzed. This could be our only clue to figuring out who took Maureen," Tucker told him.

"You got it," Marty began dusting for prints and quickly picked up quite a few good looking ones.

"Ok now we have to open it, so I need you to let go," the tech spoke up. Tucker nodded and Marty carefully unstuck the sealed envelope flap. Cautiously, he looked at the contents.

"No foreign powders or substances. I'm going to remove the letter and read it," Marty said. Tucker wanted to stop him but he knew it would raise more suspicions.

"Well played Detective Stabler but this isn't the only trick up my sleeve. Ask Maureen about her bruises. Be in touch," the CSU tech frowned, not sure of the meaning, but Tucker had a pretty good idea and quickly phoned Rollins. He told her to collect any evidence she could while at the hospital. Marty took the letter away to do further testing and Tucker then called Fin into Olivia's office and said,

"I need everything you have on the Herd family. They just moved to the top of the suspect list."

"Why what happened?" Fin asked. The Lieutenant quickly explained what the note said and his inferences to what it meant.

"You think their dad assaulted Maureen?" The newly appointed Sergeant gave him a look.

"My guess is that he didn't but wanted Stabler to think he did. This guy taught his sons how to stalk their prey and do all sorts of nasty things to them. I want to know where the mother is and I want to know just how long the father's rap sheet is. This takes top priority. My guess is that they have done a lot of things they've been getting away with for years," Tucker explained. Fin nodded and then left the office to get to work.


	11. Chapter 11

Casey entered Olivia's hospital room and plopped down in the chair next to the bed. It had been an exhausting afternoon ferrying information between parties and now she would have to tell her best friend what was going on with the Stabler clan.

"You look absolutely beat Case," Olivia said.

"I wish I had worn my running shoes," the ADA admitted.

"Well other than my request to see you, what brings you over here? Good news I hope," the Sergeant wanted to know.

"I've got some good news and I've got some bad news," Casey swallowed hard before continuing, "Maureen just waltzed into the precinct about an hour ago. She had a note for Elliot. It doesn't help clear you as it only mentions Stabler and it says that the perp will be in touch. It didn't say what was keeping him from releasing Maureen, however it did point us to have the doctors do a physical exam."

"What did this son of a bitch do to her?" Olivia was immediately pissed. The kidnapper had promised to not hurt the young woman but he obviously went back on his word.

"She's got bruises, scrapes, and marks from being tied up," the ADA tried to be calm as Olivia glared at her.

"They're preparing a rape kit as we speak," Casey told her. Olivia clenched her fists and bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to keep her overactive hormones in check and the tears from running down her face. She was ready to kill this guy. Maureen was not her own but she had always felt that it was part of her job to help keep Elliot's kids safe.

"They aren't sure if she was attacked or not so they have to do it as a precaution. Maureen had some nasty drugs in her system and couldn't ID the guy who kidnapped her or where she had been this whole time. She has bruises on her thighs so the doctors wanted to be sure that they didn't miss anything in order to treat her properly," the red head continued. Olivia couldn't hold back her emotions anymore and tears began trickling down her face. Casey stood up and then squeezed herself onto the edge of the bed, pulling her friend into a hug.

"Barba is on it with help from the guys at the two-seven. He and One PP want this all above board so when we catch him, he won't get out of prison," she said.

"If I wasn't in this hospital bed…" Olivia spoke into her friend's chest. Casey pulled back from her and said,

"Oh believe me, we'd all like a little Badass Benson to go with our day but its better you're here than in gen. pop. at Rikers. Speaking of which, Barba got some news while we were looking for Maureen. The Herd brothers have the same attorney and they're bucking for speedy trials. The judge decided that Bobby Herd's case would be moved up but that Tony's would remain as it is. They go to trial next week. Barba has been getting slammed with motions all day. My guess is that their connection to whoever kidnapped Maureen, is telling them you've been arrested. It's only a matter of time before it hits the news." Olivia wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. Her baby was in danger, Noah was back in foster care, Maureen had been pulled into this, and now she could really go to jail. Once the news hit the papers, IAB and the DA's office would have no choice but to actually begin proceedings against her. Casey wasn't sure how she could comfort her friend when her phone rang. She lifted herself off the bed and went off to the corner of the room and answered it. Olivia dried her eyes with a tissue and took a sip of water, trying to calm herself down.

"Not sure if this is good or bad," Casey shook her head.

"What do you mean?" Olivia gave her a confused look.

"Barba said that both Tony Herd and Max Winters were shanked in the cafeteria during a fight at dinnertime. Apparently they pissed somebody off," the ADA said.


	12. Chapter 12

Barba strode into the sixteenth precinct and made a beeline for Fin. The Sergeant was on the phone but he offered the ADA a seat and finished up his phone call. Then he looked around and made sure Tucker wasn't nearby.

"What's the scoop?" Fin asked.

"Both Winters and Herd should survive their injuries. Whoever did it wasn't very good at it," Barba rolled his eyes.

"Figures. This just leads us to bigger trouble anyway," Fin said, grabbing his notebook.

"What do you mean?" Barba gave him a look.

"Timothy Herd, father to Bobby and Tony, died about ten years ago in prison of liver failure. Seems he hit the bottle pretty hard before being sent away for his last offense, which was the rape of the bartender at a place called "Dirty Scoundrels"," the Sergeant heaved a sigh.

"So he's not helping them. What about the mother?" The ADA wanted to know.

"She died of breast cancer about five years ago. There is no family left to check. That means they must have a friend helping them," Fin said.

"Who? I mean both of these guys are creeps and besides trusting a friend to help with this kind of dirty work is a lot to ask. What if the friend said no or decides to turn against them?" Barba was wondering just how deep things got.

"What if this person was sworn to secrecy? We can't find a leak in the department that would have given the Herd boys some of the information they had. There is only one other person who could get information about officers through normal channels and that's lawyers," Fin pointed out.

"Their attorney is dirty?" Barba narrowed his eyes in thought.

"We don't have enough proof for a search warrant or even a wiretap on the guy's phone," Fin shook his head.

"First thing to do would be to talk to Tucker. See if anyone has pulled Elliot or Olivia's records. If they have, we question them," the ADA told him.

"All right. I'll see what I can do. Any leads on who stabbed Winters and Herd?" Fin asked.

"Not yet. I've got Lupo and Bernard from the two-seven looking into it. Too much of a coincidence that both guys involved in both SVU cases are stabbed in the same fight. Hopefully they have something soon," Barba said, standing.

"All right, keep me informed," Fin nodded before standing as well.

"Will do," the ADA nodded and then left the precinct, hoping that the two detectives at the two-seven had it under control. Fin then went over to Amanda and asked her if she'd seen Tucker. The blonde still didn't know the whole story but she was beginning to wonder just what was really going on.

"You see Tucker?" Fin asked.

"Nope. He went out about an hour ago and didn't say where. Carisi is trying to help keep Michelle calm. She's really losing it," Amanda told him. Fin frowned and the blonde continued,

"The hospital called. Maureen's examination showed no signs of fluids or internal trauma. Seems unlikely that the dad did it."

"He's dead. Barba has an idea but if it doesn't pan out we're back to square one," Fin clenched his fist.

"It gets worse," Amanda said as she looked up at the muted television screen. They couldn't find Tucker because he was busy holding some sort of press conference. Fin quickly went up to the table in front of the TV and hit the volume up button.

"Maureen was found thanks to the help of the great city of New York. Her mother is very thankful that we were able to locate Maureen before anything bad happened," Tucker told the crowd of reporters.

"What about the fight at Rikers this evening? We know that two men were sent to the hospital," a reporter asked.

"It is not an unusual occurrence at a prison facility. The corrections officers had it under control within minutes and no one sustained life-threatening injuries," Tucker played it down.

"What about reports that one of the victims was the killer of Johnny D.?" Another reporter asked.

"I cannot confirm or deny that. That would be up to the Department of Corrections," Tucker parried before quickly ending the press conference. Amanda looked at Fin who slammed his fist down on the table.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In order to avoid confusion anywhere where it says S.O.P. it means "Standard Operating Procedure". Most may know this but I figured since I wanted to make it sound more like police talking - and how they would talk on the show - it is not used as an abbreviation but as a word as they would use it.

"What the hell is going on?" Fin demanded as Tucker walked back into the bullpen about thirty minutes later. The new Sergeant was fuming especially considering the way the cases were going.

"S.O.P. after finding a missing person is to hold a press conference. What did you think I was doing?" Tucker got right in his face.

"The questions the reporters were asking could have led to letting Olivia's current condition out. We're eyeball deep into this and we don't need the press on us," Fin clenched his fists and his jaw.

"I did what I had to do. Especially since Maureen wasn't actually assaulted. We have no DNA, no fingerprints, and no image of our kidnapper. All we know is that he uses voice disguising equipment. He drugged Maureen with enough tranquilizers that we were lucky she walked into the precinct at all!" Tucker fired back.

"All right! That's enough!" Rollins shouted at the two of them and they turned to her with a look of surprise.

"The Herd boys' parents are dead so they aren't helping them. We need to know if anyone requested Elliot's and the Sergeant's files from IAB recently. We need both of you to stay focused on this case!" Rollins put her foot down.

"I'll make some calls," with that Tucker headed into Olivia's office and closed the door.

"Barba called. The security footage at Rikers shows who stabbed Winters and Herd. Lupo and Bernard are following up but it looks like Johnny D.'s gang is taking revenge," the blonde filled Fin in.

"One of the underlings stabbed them? Why?" The Sergeant asked.

"Well Winters I get. Have to show that they won't take it lying down and maybe there is enough crew left on the outside to call for Winters to end up dead but what does Tony Herd have to do with it?" Rollins replied to his questions with another question.

"Something is way hinky," Fin narrowed his eyes in thought before heading to his desk. He quickly punched up Winters and Herd's records. They had never seemingly crossed paths before; however, something that hadn't been apparent before was now coming to his attention.

"Winters' lawyer for the charges he faced last time, his name is Dennis Pettine. The Herd boys managed to hire the same attorney," he told Rollins.

"I highly doubt that's a coincidence," the blonde responded.

"Agreed," Fin nodded. Just then Tucker came back out of Olivia's office and headed for them. Rollins looked at Fin and grabbed his forearm; he looked at her, unsure if she was afraid of what the answer might be to their earlier query or if she was trying to keep him from punching the IAB Lieutenant.

"Neither Olivia's nor Elliot's public files were requested, however someone did access their private NYPD files," Tucker had a big frown on his face and he spoke softly before motioning for them to follow him back in Olivia's office. Rollins looked at Fin and he looked back at her. Someone had been keeping extra tabs on their friends, besides the usual ones since they announced their relationship, and they weren't sure why. They quickly followed the Lieutenant and closed the door behind them.

"Who would do that?" Fin wanted to know.

"Both of their files were accessed after Maureen was kidnapped which is another S.O.P. It's who accessed them before that makes me wonder," Tucker explained.

"How high up are we talking?" Rollins asked.

"High enough that our underwear is going to be in a bunch for a long while," the Lieutenant motioned them over to the computer and the two had their jaws drop at the picture on the screen.

At the hospital, Olivia was meeting with the specialist that Doctor Patrick had called. It turned out that he worked in New Jersey and offered his personal assistance immediately upon hearing about her condition.

"Doctor Rabadi, what is going on with my body?" Olivia asked. The question had been plaguing her all day since she'd heard of Maureen's good news. The sun was setting and she was surprised the doctor had rushed right over.

"I don't have all the answers yet but I wanted to meet you and talk and then take a look at the whole picture," the older gentlemen smiled. He was of Indian descent and was practically bald.

"I appreciate you rushing over," She smiled slightly.

"Not trouble at all. My daughter lives in the city and I've been meaning to visit her. Besides if the NYPD keeps her safe, it seems only fair that I help keep you safe. But make no mistake; I am here to help no matter who you are. Doctors must go where they are needed and I am needed here," Rabadi smiled again. He was a very nice man and Olivia immediately felt as ease with him which was not easy to do, given her dislike for hospitals and doctors after her ordeal with Lewis.

"Patrick tells me that you had a traumatic experience a little while ago. I read your file and first let me say that I am sorry. Hopefully this will not be a long term problem. Now gestational diabetes can be tricky but it isn't exactly unheard of in your situation. What we need to do is diagnose what is wrong with your liver and kidneys and then we can see any possible links to the diabetes. I am ordering another scan. This will be a little more physical than the other tests that have been done," Rabadi explained.

"Physical?" Olivia swallowed.

"Yes, we need to take a sonogram of your abdomen to see if your issues stem from your gallbladder. Once that is ruled out, we can then look for other causes for your liver enzymes to be off," he told her.

"My gallbladder?" It was all a little complicated and it seemed every time she talked to a doctor, some other body part was in trouble.

"Your liver and gallbladder work together to aid in digestion. If your gallbladder is inflamed it could explain the liver trouble. The kidneys mostly deal with the diabetes portion so if we need to separate the treatment of the liver from the kidneys, it will help narrow down why you have early onset gestational diabetes," again the older man smiled.

"Ah I see. So you'll do the test in the morning?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Yes, you need to fast for some time before we do the sonogram. Now I want you to get some rest and we'll talk more in the morning," Rabadi promised.

"Thank you doctor," she smiled.

"You are quite welcome," he smiled back. He headed for the door but stopped in his tracks at the commotion outside the room. It was not the typical commotion for a hospital as there were shouts declaring that whoever was outside was to drop their weapon.

"Doctor, we need to get inside the bathroom," Olivia told him and she started to move one her own. Rabadi quickly moved back to her and gently helped her toward the bathroom. Once inside they locked the door and it wasn't long before something sounded like a door being broken and gunshots rang out.


	14. Chapter 14

"Liv! Liv!" The very familiar voice told her that she could open the bathroom door. Doctor Rabadi helped her out of the room and soon found his patient pulled from his arms and into the arms of a man he judged to be another police officer.

"El! What the hell happened out there?" Olivia pulled her head back from him so she could look him in the eyes and she realized that there was blood on his shirt. Her attention was distracted from him however as doctors and nurses began rushing about right near them. It was then that she noticed two men down in the hallway bleeding all over the floor. The door to her hospital room had been kicked in and a third man lay nearby bleeding as well.

"I'll explain later but we have to get you out of here. CSU and IAB are going to have to get this scene all sorted out," Elliot explained. Olivia started to ask him if he was ok but before she knew what was going on; Elliot scooped her up into his arms.

"El, I can walk you know. You shouldn't be lifting me if you're hurt," she protested.

"I'm fine, it's not mine and I know you can walk," he smirked before working his way around the downed man in the doorway. When he exited the room, he was met by Fin and Rollins who had showed up at the hospital to tell Elliot what they had found out and to make sure their Sergeant was ok. They had confronted the men who were now being attended to by the doctors.

"Baby girl, you all right?" Fin asked.

"I'm fine, thanks to you guys. You waiting on IAB?" She wanted to know, ever on duty.

"Tucker headed to Noah's temporary home and we headed here. My guess is that they'll be dispatching someone else to cover the shooting," Rollins spoke up.

"Ok now you guys really need to fill me in," Olivia said, despite it being against protocol.

"Bed for you first, young lady. You're still my patient and you still have that test in the morning. A new room has been selected for you on the next floor," Doctor Rabadi interrupted them.

"Do what the doc says and we'll come see you when we get this all straightened out," Fin promised. She nodded and the doctor ushered her and Elliot to the elevator and away from the shooting victims.

"You still have a chance to back out from treating me, Doctor, considering what just happened," Olivia told him in the elevator.

"Not a chance," Rabadi shook his head. They exited the elevator on the floor above her old room and a nurse quickly approached them with a wheelchair. Elliot transferred Olivia into the chair, immediately missing the feeling of her in his arms.

"Now follow Nurse Carmen and I'll be in soon to make sure everything is set up appropriately," the doctor promised. Carmen pushed the wheelchair down to Olivia's new room. Elliot helped transfer her from the wheelchair to the bed and then Nurse Carmen got to work reconnecting the Sergeant to the necessary equipment. She smiled and then promised to send Doctors Patrick and Rabadi in as soon as she could. Olivia thanked her and then turned her attention to Elliot as the nurse left the room.

"So as for what happened downstairs, I only know part of it, so Fin and Rollins will need to fill you in on the rest," he started.

"Well tell me what you do know," Olivia pressed.

"Fin sent me a text, saying that we needed to meet at your room immediately. He refused to tell me why so I left Maureen's apartment and headed to the hospital," Elliot said.

"How is Maureen?" His girlfriend asked.

"A little shook up but she doesn't seem to remember much, which the doctors think is from the heavy tranquilizers that the kidnapper used on her. The doctors said she could go home so I had taken her there. Kathy is with her now," he told her. Olivia nodded and he continued.

"I had just come toward your room when I saw Fin and Rollins pointing their weapons at the two officers outside your door. Fin ordered them to put their hands in the air and step away from your door. Officer Whitney looked confused but started to oblige. That's when Officer Michaels went for his weapon instead. I pulled my weapon as did Fin and Rollins. Michaels grabbed his and then grabbed his partner. He threatened us with harming Whitney if we didn't back down. I holstered my weapon and told him to let his partner go. He refused so Whitney stomped on his foot and tried to get the gun away from him. What we didn't know was that someone called hospital security. One of their men had rushed up to the scene from the other direction. Michaels got the upper hand on Whitney and fired at the guard who got hit in the stomach. Fin shouted at Michaels to drop his weapon but he was still struggling with Whitney. They bashed into your door, knocking it down and that's when we heard the other shot. Michaels exited your doorway and Fin and Rollins shot him," Elliot explained.

"Why would Officer Michaels refuse to do as Fin asked? Where did you get the blood on your shirt from?" Olivia wanted to know.

"I can't answer the first one. The second one is easy…" the detective didn't get to finish as Nurse Carmen came back in the room.

"Ok, Olivia needs this fresh gown and here is a clean shirt for your friend," she smiled and handed Elliot the shirt.

"Thank you," he smiled and then went into the bathroom to pull off his shirt and clean up a little. The nurse helped Olivia out of the messy gown and into the fresh one.

"How are the victims downstairs?" She asked the nurse.

"I don't know and unfortunately even if I did I can't discuss it," Carmen gave a slight smile, sticking to the rules and regulations set down as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of nineteen ninety-six.

"I understand. I'm just worried about my fellow officers," Olivia smiled back.

"I can certainly understand that. Doctor Patrick and Doctor Rabadi will be in in a few minutes and hospital security is handling guarding your door until the NYPD can resume their duties," Carmen explained.

"Thanks," Olivia nodded. The nurse nodded back and then headed for the door when she heard someone knocking.

"Good evening ma'am. Is Sergeant Benson available to talk to?" One of the men asked. The Caucasian man was taller than his Latino partner by about a foot and wore a well-tailored brown suit. The shorter man was also wearing a well-tailored suit but he was more muscular than his partner.

"She is but only for a few minutes," Carmen instructed before letting them into the room.

"Sergeant Benson, I'm Lieutenant Greevy and this is Sergeant Sanchez. We're from IAB," he announced.

"I kind of figured but I can't help you with what happened downstairs," she said.

"We know. Although we understand that Detective Stabler is up here," Sanchez smiled slightly.

"I'm right here. I'm guessing you want my shirt since it's covered in Whitney's blood. How is he?" Stabler asked.

"They rushed him to surgery. We won't know for a while. The hospital security guard was also rushed to surgery but we're afraid that Officer Michaels is dead," Greevy explained.

"This puts Detective Rollins and Sergeant Tutuola on administrative leave until we figured out what happened. We need to talk to you as well," Sanchez told them.

"All right. Let's get it over with," Elliot nodded.


	15. Chapter 15

During the shooting at the hospital, Tucker pulled up to the house where Noah was staying. The lady who opened the door, was tall, muscular, and had long black hair she pulled back into a ponytail, quickly let him inside, looking around before closing the door behind him.

"You weren't followed were you?" She asked after locking the door.

"I think we've got bigger problems Diana," Tucker admitted.

"What kind of bigger problems? Don't lie to me. I was on the force for fifteen years, I know when someone is lying to me," she eyeballed him, unsure of where he was going with this.

"The fish stinks from the head down and someone might be coming after Noah," was all the Lieutenant said.

"Good thing I have my weapon then," the black haired woman moved into the kitchen, pulled open a drawer, undid the combination lock inside the drawer, and pulled out her nine millimeter pistol.

"You keep that in the kitchen?" He gave her a look from the spot where he'd followed her.

"There's one in the bedroom too. Can never be too careful," Diana smirked as she holstered her weapon before moving to Noah who was playing inside the playpen in the living room.

"Pack a bag and we'll get the two of you to a safer location until this is all over with," Tucker said.

"What aren't you telling me?" She asked as she scooped up some toys and some other items from the living room and shoved them into the diaper bag. She then made a move down to her bedroom.

"The less you know the better. I just want to be sure that both you and Noah are safe," the Lieutenant refused to give her more. Diana didn't press any further and rushed around to pack a duffel bag full of items she needed, including her back up piece from the bedroom safe. Then she went under the bed and grabbed a long, black, hard plastic case.

"You expecting anyone?" He called out to her as he watched a car pull up to the curb from one of the living room windows. Two men in suits exited the vehicle and began looking at the house and his car. They were definitely not NYPD and they were most definitely packing weapons under their coats.

"Definitely not," she said as she came back into the kitchen. Tucker withdrew his weapon and moved toward the front door while Diana ran to Noah. She scooped up the little tyke and ran toward the back of the living room. There she pulled out the chest of drawers that was placed in front of the back wall of the room and pressed the shoe board in with her foot. A door popped open and she quickly got Noah inside before closing the door and moving the chest of drawers back. Then she moved back toward Tucker, her weapon drawn.

"They're scoping out my car and deciding if they want to come in. I'm calling for backup," he grabbed his cell phone and dialed nine-one-one.

"This is Lieutenant Tucker from Internal Affairs. I am in need of backup immediately! My location is…" he rattled off the address and the dispatcher put it out over the air waves.

"Here's hoping they get here in time. I'm going upstairs for a better vantage point," Diana told him. He nodded and watched as she grabbed the long, black, hard plastic case and headed up the stairwell.

Diana settled in the bedroom nearest the front door and quickly pulled out her sniper rifle. She had left the force five years prior after an incident involving a child and afterwards had decided to work as sort of a protective detail for children in need of protection. She often took in battered wives and their kids as well. The NYPD granted her semi-retirement status, and kept her on the payroll, which allowed her to get permits and allowed her to keep more weapons in her home in order to do what was necessary. This also granted her cover if she needed to kill someone attempting to harm the home's occupants.

Now looking out through her scope, she took in the two men better as they headed for the front door. They looked like mobsters which was not something she was ultimately prepared for. Tucker hadn't said anything about the Mob being involved. Still she quietly opened the window enough to stick the business end of her rifle out of the window. Then she heard the sirens and the two men looked as though they weren't sure what to do. Right then and there, Diana knew they weren't mobsters but a couple of guys trying to make it look that way. They were smart and because of that they hightailed to their car and took off just as the first patrol car was arriving. The police cruiser took off in hot pursuit with a few cars following them. Two patrol cars stopped outside the house and the officers inside left their vehicles and headed for the door.

"It looks like you guys scared them off," Tucker said, letting them in.

"Lieutenant Tucker? Anybody hurt sir?" The first officer asked. Diana came down the stairs, the gun back in its case.

"No, we're good. We need to move though. This location has been compromised for protective custody and we can't chance whoever sent the first goons won't be back," Tucker said.

"Agreed sir. Let's get everyone into a patrol car and on their way. You have a new location in mind?" His partner asked.

"I do and I'll take them to it. Make sure those guys get caught. I want CSU sweeping this place for bugs and I want those tire tracks outside examined," Tucker ordered.

"Yes, sir." The officer nodded and then helped Diana with her bags while another officer called for CSU to get someone down to the scene. Tucker, Diana, and Noah got into his car and took off down the road.


	16. Chapter 16

It wasn't until the next morning, after breakfast, when Casey came to see Olivia that she found out what had happened with Noah. Tucker hadn't shown up himself but promised he would surface as soon as he could, and the ADA thought she was going to have to restrain Olivia from trying to leave her hospital bed. Especially since the two goons who tried to take Noah were caught by officers shortly after they fled from the safe house. They had refused to say anything however without a lawyer and were now sitting in Rikers.

"These bastards are going after Noah! I can't stay here!" She argued.

"You kind of don't have a choice. There is still no confession from the real person who did this and the minute you try to leave, they will arrest you," Casey reminded her. To this Olivia heaved a sigh and slumped back down into the bed.

"Now, we need to go over the facts of this case and you can tell me if you can help in any way. Elliot, Fin, and Rollins are on administrative duty and Carisi is still tied up keeping Michelle Simmons safe. With Tucker helping to keep Noah safe, the investigation is going to fall apart pretty quickly. So let's start at the beginning," Casey told her and quickly popped open her laptop. She intended to get everything together on her computer and take it to Fin as soon as they were done.

"Ok, Elliot told me that Max Winters and the Herd brothers had the same lawyer, Dennis Pettine. Both Winters and Tony Herd were shanked in the cafeteria fight, which Lupo and Bernard over at the two-seven figured out it was somebody who used to work for Johnny D. He's been arrested," Olivia started.

"Ok good. We know that the shanking was not planned but seeing as Herd and Winters were stabbed at the same time, we figure they are in on it. Barba is buttering up our shanker, a Thomas Lacroix, to see what he knows about those two," Casey filled in.

"That brings us back to Pettine, the lawyer. Why would he arrange something like this? He could get disbarred and thrown in jail himself," Olivia narrowed her eyes in thought. Something wasn't sitting right.

"So far all we can prove is that he was the middle man. The Herd brothers hire Winters to kill Johnny D. and blame it on you. This throws you into suspicion and gives them ammo in order to get away with what they did to Michelle Simmons," the ADA said.

"That fits. What I can't figure out is how Officer Michaels was involved. Luckily, the hospital security guard and Officer Whitney both have survived their surgeries but they aren't out of the woods. What was Michaels thinking? Why would he attempt to run when Fin and Rollins came to talk to him?" The Sergeant knew that a rather large piece was missing from the puzzle and Fin and Rollins had been unable to bring either her or Elliot up to speed before they were escorted away from her hospital room.

"How did you know the guys Michaels shot were ok?" Casey gave her a look.

"Lieutenant Greevy and Sergeant Sanchez filled me in when they stopped by this morning. Whitney doesn't seem to know why his partner shot him and they wanted to know what my connection was with Michaels. I told them that I had helped rescue his daughter, Tina, while solving her kidnapping case. They nodded and gave me a funny look before leaving," Olivia sat upright at this thought.

"I've got Fin digging into Michaels apart from IAB. I want to know what they do before we get ambushed and what did I say about speaking without me present?" The redhead gave her a look.

"I wanted to know what is going on. It's driving me nuts that someone obviously went through great lengths to try to discredit me and now has tried to take Noah," her friend told her.

"Well don't do it again. Now, where were we?" She asked.

"How Michaels fits into all of this. Fin told me that he has a connection higher up the food chain and it is possible that that person helped him get onto your detail and how someone knew where Noah was," Casey explained just before her phone went off. She quickly picked it up to discover a text from Fin. The redhead had to reread it a few times until Olivia bugged her to tell her what it said.

"Tina Michaels is dead. She committed suicide about two years ago," she told her friend.

"That explains why her mother stopped calling me. Does the file say anything…" Olivia didn't get a chance to finish when Casey's phone rang again.

"Sharon Michaels is being treated for pancreatic cancer. She was diagnosed last month. Michaels put in a request to take time off which was approved but then he was back on the job two weeks later and assigned to your security detail shortly thereafter. Fin is sending Briscoe out to see what he can dig up," the ADA explained.

"Ok that would explain him going off the deep end but not why he would be a part of setting me up," the Sergeant frowned.

"I think Sharon is the one who can answer that," Casey nodded.


	17. Chapter 17

Detective Ken Briscoe pulled up to the small house on City Island. He looked around and wondered if he had the right address as the house seemed to be slowly sinking into the ground beneath it. The dirty white vinyl siding was peeling and the roof had spots where shingles were missing. The lawn looked like it hadn't been mowed in at least two weeks and he again turned to the address in his notepad. It matched and he shrugged. Getting out of his unmarked car, he closed the door and locked it up.

Heading up to the front door, he noted that there were no cars in the driveway and the occupants could be gone. It wouldn't totally surprise him considering the lady's condition and the fact that her husband was now dead. Still he'd checked the hospital and they said she'd left about an hour before he got there.

Knocking on the front door, he realized that the porch was a minefield of loose boards and nails working their way out of places where the wood seemed to be rotten. However there was no mail or papers piling up and he knocked on the door, partially wondering if he should have brought back up. His knock caused a commotion from inside the house and he figured that someone was indeed living there.

"Who are you?" A woman's voice called out from behind the door, which surprisingly seemed solid.

"I'm Detective Briscoe from Manhattan SVU, ma'am. I need to ask you a few questions about your husband," he said, introducing himself. She opened the door slowly and it was then that he realized she was on an oxygen machine, near a recliner; the tubing was stretched out from the machine to the doorway. A cane was propping her up and despite the fact that she looked very thin, he wondered if it would hold her up.

"IAB was already here. What do you want to know that they don't already?" Sharon eyeballed him.

"Ma'am it's complicated. Can I please come in? I would imagine your chair is more comfortable than standing in the drafty doorway," Briscoe smiled slightly. Sharon tilted her head and let him in. She hobbled to the chair and practically collapsed into it.

"I'm sorry," Ken said.

"For what? For my daughter's suicide? For my husband's death? For my cancer? There is a lot to be sorry for. But I can't dwell on all of that. I have to try to keep going," She said before reaching over and grabbing a drink of water from the TV tray next to the chair. She offered him a seat in a nearby plush chair and Briscoe took it.

"Briscoe you said your name was?" Sharon asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Ken smiled slightly.

"You related to Lennie?" She wanted to know.

"He was my Uncle. He passed a few years ago," Ken told her.

"Sorry to hear it. He was a good man. He looked out for Tom when he joined the two-seven for his first year as an officer. He got in touch when Tina went missing, and it was good to know that besides SVU that Lennie was trying to help," Sharon explained.

"Thank you. I am sorry about your daughter and your husband but I have to ask some questions. First, what would you or your husband have against Sergeant Benson?" Ken asked. Sharon heaved a sigh which led to her coughing. Ken stood up and helped her get a drink. She was worse off than he thought.

"She's a Sergeant now, huh? First, I had nothing against Detective Benson. She found my Tina and I had time with her that I might not have had if those bastards who kidnapped her had had their way. I didn't think Tom did either until Tina passed away," she held up a finger and then stood up. Ken moved to help her but she waved him off. Heading to a bookshelf that was only feet away, she grabbed a book and made her way back to her chair. She handed the book to Ken before plopping down in the seat. He opened the book and realized that it was pictures of Tina.

"My Tina kept going to therapy and we thought she was getting better. Then one morning we found her hanging in her bedroom. She left a note. She apologized but she couldn't go on. Somehow one of the kidnappers got our address and had been mailing her letters from jail. I handed them over when the detectives from homicide came in. The DA tried to get him brought up on murder charges since he was the reason she committed suicide. It was a long shot but the guys at the precinct thought that this would be some sort of closure for us, that maybe in some way, they could help us heal. Instead it drove Tom to something I can't describe. He started getting secretive; being out at all hours. Then came my diagnosis. He shifted his focus to me and trying to get everything I needed. Then the verdict came in and the jury didn't find him guilty of murder but manslaughter. I thought it would help us move on but that's when blaming Detective Benson for our predicament came about. He started having meetings with his Uncle," Ken stopped her there.

"Uncle?" He knew this had to be big.

"Yeah. His Uncle works over at One PP. He's the Commissioner's primary aide," Sharon explained. 


	18. Chapter 18

Ken Briscoe skipped heading for the precinct and went right to the hospital. The officers at the door let him in and he approached Olivia. Casey had had to get back to work and now the Sergeant was alone with her thoughts in between tests the doctors were running. The sonogram proved that her issues didn't stem from her gallbladder and even showed that her liver was slightly inflamed. It was then decided to pump her full of antibiotics that wouldn't harm the baby and see if the inflammation went down on its own. If it did not, then they may have to perform a biopsy, which both Doctor Patrick and Doctor Rabadi really didn't want to do.

"Sergeant?" The detective asked making sure she was ok having visitors.

"Hey there Briscoe. Find out something?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Yes and I was wondering if you knew how to get in touch with Lieutenant Tucker. We have a bit of a situation," Ken explained.

"That doesn't sound good," Olivia swallowed.

"Sharon Michaels holds no ill will toward you but it seems that Officer Tom Michaels did. He had been in contact with his Uncle and had become secretive, not telling Sharon what he was up to," Ken gave her a little more information.

"What part of that should make me nervous?" She asked.

"The part where Tom Michaels Uncle is the Commissioner's primary aide," Ken swallowed hard. The implications seemed even worse, now that he'd voiced what he'd found out.

"Oh Lord," Olivia couldn't believe it.

"It seems to make sense that he was the one who accessed your and Detective Stabler's files before Maureen was kidnapped," the Detective continued.

"All right. I have Tucker's phone number but do me a favor and don't call him from the precinct, here, or your cell phone. He went underground to protect Noah and I don't want whoever was after him, gaining information on where they are," Olivia told him.

"Yes ma'am. I'll call him from a different location and then I'll bring Fin up to speed," Ken nodded.

"Very good. Thanks so much Ken," Olivia smiled slightly.

"Welcome. You feel better, ok Sergeant?" He smiled slightly.

"I'm trying," she nodded. With that he scooted out of the room and down the hallway to the elevator. Olivia tried to connect the dots but something was still missing. Why would the Commissioner's primary aide know Winters or the Herd brothers? Maybe his only connection was his computer and Tom Michaels, Tom doing the rest without his Uncle's knowledge. She had to hope it was maybe otherwise, her career and life could be over as she knew it.

"Thank you Detective Briscoe. I'm glad you called," Lieutenant Tucker said before hanging up the phone.

"What's going on?" Diana asked as she bounced Noah on her knee.

"We found the link to the head of the fish. Officer Tom Michaels is the Commissioner's primary aide's nephew," Tucker shook his head.

"You really think Lieutenant Baker helped Michaels kidnap Maureen Stabler and try to throw Benson's career into the crapper?" Diana gave him a look.

"Right now, I have no proof to the contrary. The issue is that I can't go up to the Commissioner and voice my concerns," Tucker said.

"Point. Maybe once you can connect Winters and the Herd brothers to Michaels then you could go to the Commissioner," Diana suggested.

"That would be the problem. Michaels didn't arrest any of them. The connection keeps coming back to the lawyer, Dennis Pettine," the Lieutenant heaved a sigh.

"Let me make a few calls," Diana narrowed her eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

Tucker bounced Noah on his knee, as they sat on his couch in the living room, while Diana was on the phone, down the hall. The three of them had gone to his apartment and the Lieutenant figured that they would be safe for the time being. He had told no one where they were going and if he was calling someone from his cellphone, they'd have to involve TARU to trace the call.

He turned his attention to the tot on his leg and could see why Olivia had fallen so hard for the little guy. He was sweet and rarely ever cried or complained. Of course, he knew that those weren't the only reasons but he could remember helping to care for his younger siblings growing up and none of them had been this way. Noah would offer to share his toys, his drink, and even his food. If he wanted something, he would indicate that he wanted something and didn't get upset if he didn't get it in the next thirty seconds. Despite, basically being with strangers, Noah didn't seem to notice. Most kids would kick and fuss and not do anything they were told but he just entertained himself and tried to entertain others if he felt they needed it. Tucker's thoughts then turned to the little tot's time in foster care. No wonder he'd received poor treatment. He couldn't communicate at the time and someone had taken that opportunity to beat the poor child. Tucker clenched his fist that wasn't occupied with holding Noah and knew they had to get Noah back with Olivia. Neither one of them deserved this.

"Ok, I think I've made some headway with a few of my old CI's," Diana said, walking back into the living room.

"Yeah?" He gave her a look.

"Pettine is the guy that people went to when they got in trouble. His fees are cheap and a couple of guys seemed to insinuate that he had connections," she explained.

"In the prisons? Out on the street?" Tucker pressed.

"Out on the street. He may not be mobbed up but he seems to have no ethical issues working as a go between for his clients and the people they want to get in touch with," Diana shook her head.

"I'll see if I can get Detective Briscoe to dig more into this guy. Michaels may have known him and then the pieces will fall together," the Lieutenant said, handing her Noah.

"Good call. Then you might want him to see about squeezing our two idiots who tried to kidnap this little guy. My guess is that if they know Michaels is dead and we're onto Pettine, they'll squawk like canaries," she smirked. Tucker nodded and quickly made a call.

Back at the precinct, Ken Briscoe was sitting at his desk beginning to wonder how the precinct was going to function. Basically everyone he usually dealt with was not available and he couldn't keep disappearing on these little tasks without someone taking notice. After, he'd talked with Tucker, he'd put in a call to Barba. The ADA promised to call the goons' lawyers and let him know what became of it. Meantime, without making it too noticeable, the Detective did some digging into Pettine and his clients.

Ken shook his head. The guy was either, really good or he was lucky. A lot of his cases had been pled out for lesser charges, often netting his clients time to be served in Rikers and not some far away jail. Those that didn't get lesser charges often still go reduced prison time at trial.

"Uncle Lennie always said he hated lawyers," Ken smirked remembering the much beloved detective.

"I hope he didn't mean that," Barba smirked from behind the detective which made him jump.

"He had very few exceptions. Mainly your boss, McCoy, and Abby Carmichael, though he didn't get a chance to meet you. I think you would have gotten along," Ken smiled.

"Good to know. Now my real reason for the visit is that we have a meeting at Rikers with the guys the NYPD nabbing for attempting to kidnap Noah, in about two hours," Barba told him.

"All righty. Their names are Jack Stapleton and Harry Jameson. They both have rap sheets as long as my arms. Anything else you need to know?" Briscoe wanted to know.

"Nope. You take Stapleton and I'll take Jameson. We'll break these guys before IAB clears Fin, Rollins, and Stabler. We need to get this or Olivia is in big trouble," Barba said.

"For the Sergeant," Briscoe nodded.

"For the Sergeant," the ADA agreed.


	20. Chapter 20

Olivia sat in her hospital bed in pain. Regrettably, the doctors had had to do the biopsy on his liver, and needless to say it wasn't any fun. That was two days ago and the pain medication was doing its work as her body healed but she had to sleep on her back, not on her sides or stomach, and it was not the most comfortable position for her.

"Ten hut!" Olivia bolted upright, immediately regretting it. She winced and sucked in some air.

"Sorry about that. Force of habit for the officers it seems," the person who had come to visit her spoke up and that's when Olivia realized who it was.

"Commissioner, sir, I…"

"At ease Sergeant. I come bearing news of the charges against you," he smiled and sat down. Commissioner Douglas Snyder was an older gentleman was close to six and a half feet tall with dark brown hair. He had a moustache of matching color and his blue eyes conveyed that he was not here to start something. He'd been on the force for many years before becoming Commissioner.

"Should my attorney be present sir?" Olivia asked.

"I should think not. All charges have been dropped. I will be taking the officers guarding your door with me when I leave," he explained. Benson's jaw dropped open, not quite sure what to say.

"You have quite the team fighting for you. It is good to see that you command such respect. Now I know that you took the Lieutenant's exam and I also know we're past the usual time frame for promotions but when you're discharged from the hospital, I will see to it personally that you are given the position of Lieutenant. You still want to head up Manhattan SVU? You could have a command anywhere you want," Snyder said.

"I would like to remain at SVU sir, as long as that is all right given my situation with Detective Stabler," Olivia said.

"It won't be an issue. I am assigning Sergeant Mike Dodds to your unit, and he'll run things until you get out of the hospital. He's a good man and I know that he'll be an excellent help to your unit. Detective Stabler can report directly to him and that will avoid the massive amounts of paperwork you've been filing recently," the Commissioner winked.

"Detective Tutuola is a Sergeant now, sir. Not that I'm complaining about the help sir but that is a little unfair to Fin," Olivia told him, always looking out for her squad.

"Not to worry. I spoke to Tutuola before coming here. He and ADA Barba are the ones that came to me with the case against you. Both he and I have agreed that he'll go back down to Detective but keep his Sergeant's salary. It was the least I could do for his help with all of this," he smiled.

"He asked you for that?" Olivia was a little surprised that Fin would ask for such a thing. She knew he had never wanted to be a Sergeant but if it meant keeping the unit intact, he would do it.

"I asked him what he wanted and he was willing to just be a detective, pay included. The salary idea was mine. He should be compensated for a job more than well done. Now I've been yammering on for too long. There are some people outside who want to see you. I look forward to putting those stripes on your shoulders Sergeant Benson. I hope you are better soon," Snyder stood from the chair.

"Thank you sir," Olivia nodded. With that the Commissioner left and in walked Elliot with Noah in his stroller.

"El," she heaved a small sigh of relief. This was all over now, except for the medical problems she'd been having.

"Hey Liv," he smiled at her and plucked Noah from his stroller, gently setting him down on the bed next to Olivia. Using her right arm only, she pulled the little guy into an awkward hug.

"Mommy missed you so much little man," she told him. Noah smiled and snuggled into her hug.

"Yes well this man missed his girlfriend," Elliot said as he leaned down and kissed her on the top of her head before taking a seat in the chair next to the bed.

"I missed you too. How'd you guys manage to get the charges dropped? The Commissioner wouldn't give me too many details. That's another thing. How'd he get involved? One would think he wouldn't take his top aide's complicity in the crimes of Officer Michaels," Olivia pointed out.

"We'll talk about that later. Right now it's family time and I really need it, as much as you do, I'm sure," he said.

"The biopsy won't be back for another three days. I'm worried what they are going to find," she admitted, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't worry. We'll face it head on like we always do. We've been partners a long time and I think that we need to change that," he said. Olivia raised an eyebrow. He shifted in the seat so that he was kneeling on it and pulled out something from his pocket. Olivia's eyes went wide.

"Olivia Benson would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He asked.


	21. Chapter 21

Later that day, Fin, Barba, Rollins, Carisi, and Briscoe, knocked on the door to the Sergeant's hospital room. Elliot had barely left her side except for taking care of Noah and snagging the two of them lunch. The nurses still had Olivia eating a clear foods diet to make sure nothing upset her system more than it already had been. Three more days of broth, toast, gelatin, and ginger ale seemed like a really long time for that, never mind waiting on the results of her biopsy.

"Well the gangs almost all here. Everything ok? I mean other than the fact that the charges against me magically disappeared," Olivia eyeballed them. The nurses brought in some more chairs when they saw the group enter the room. Quickly everyone began taking their seats near the bed so that Olivia could hear what happened.

"We came to discuss everything. Casey promised to be along as soon as she could," Barba explained.

"But maybe you should start first?" Rollins gave the Sergeant a look right back, having noticed the grin that would not seem to wipe off of Elliot's face. That and the Sergeant seemed to be hiding her hands in her lap beneath her tray which was covered in Cheerios for Noah. The little tot was sitting next to his adoptive mother happily munching away on the little snack.

"I think it should definitely be superior officers first. Carisi, shouldn't you be with Michelle Simmons?" Olivia deflected.

"She doesn't need to testify anymore but I'll let Barba get into that," he smiled.

"So I think the first thing we need to do is commend Detective Briscoe," the ADA started.

"Agreed. I spoke to Tucker earlier and he promised to get paperwork started on a commendation from the department. Without his hard work, I'm guessing I'd still be in very big trouble," Olivia announced.

"Ma'am, that really isn't…" Briscoe started.

"How long have we known each other Kenny? You did everyone in this unit a huge solid and we won't forget it," She gave him a wink.

"Yes, ma'am, uh Liv," he corrected himself.

"Now onto the juicy details. Ken and I went to Rikers to see the two thugs who attempted to kidnap Noah. They are Jack Stapleton and Harry Jameson, did you know them?" Barba asked.

"They don't sound familiar," she shrugged slightly.

"Well that doesn't surprise me. They didn't know you either but when we told them that Officer Michaels was dead, they both told us what we wanted to hear. I cut them a deal since they agreed to talk," the ADA continued.

"What kind of a deal?" Olivia wanted to know.

"They won't be serving any jail time for the attempted kidnapping. Instead I promised to have them serve the rest of their respective sentences, for the crimes they were on parole for. It seems Michaels got them to do his dirty work by telling them that he'd call their parole officers and make sure they got sent back to jail," he explained.

"How much time did they have left?" Elliot gave him a look.

"Stapleton had two years and Jameson had a year. They were petty criminals but they didn't want to go back to jail. Michaels promised to keep them out of jail for the kidnapping, which was something he couldn't promise, but they didn't know that," Barba told them.

"So what did they know about the Herd brothers and Winters?" Olivia asked.

"Turns out that the Herd Brothers hired Winters to set you up. That's why Tony and Max were shanked during the fight. Our perp, Thomas Lacroix, saw them hanging out in the cafeteria and figured that if he stabbed them both, that the real intended victim wouldn't be found out so easily. Too bad for him that he forgot about the security cameras. Then again Johnny D. didn't pay his thugs for their brains. Anyway, Stapleton knew Winters and the lawyer, Dennis Pettine," Rollins filled in, giving the ADA a break.

"Ok so, originally this was just about kidnapping Noah? I mean why else would he need Winters or the Herd brothers?" Olivia was getting confused.

"It does get a little twisted. Stapleton said that Michaels originally just wanted to kidnap Noah. Apparently, taking Noah and keeping him would somehow make up for losing his daughter. Michaels said he wanted you to feel the pain that he was feeling. Problem was, there was never a time when Noah was easy to kidnap. He was at the precinct or he was with you and Elliot or he was with Lucy. Basically, he was never unattended, and to make his plan work, he couldn't have anyone who could ID the kidnappers. So Michaels again threatened Stapleton and Jameson and told them that they needed to get Noah back in foster care. It would be much easier to snag him when the foster parents are juggling multiple kids at the playground than it would be to snag him with only one or two watchful eyes. That's when Stapleton suggested that they just set you up. He had no idea that Winters was actually going to kill Johnny D. We believe that's where Dennis Pettine comes in," Fin continued.

"So the lawyer hears that Stapleton wants Winters to lie about a death threat against Johnny D. He tells the Herd boys that if Winters actually kills Johnny D. that not only will Noah be taken away but the case against them will be in question. Of course, they assumed that Johnny D.'s gang would seek revenge and off Winters," Carisi added.

"It was a brilliant plan really because if Winters had died when he got shanked then all the evidence of the plot basically would have died with him. However, I cut Winters a deal, twenty-five to life, his assault and burglary charges I tossed in, so he would testify against the lawyer and the Herd brothers. All three have refused to deal and we're set to go to trial next week. In the meantime, IAB and the DA's office have dropped the charges against you," Barba finished.

"Good grief," Olivia shook her head. It had been a long convoluted scheme but it would have worked perfectly had everything actually gone according to plan.

"That's what I was thinking. Enough to make your head spin," Rollins agreed.

"How long do you think the Herd brothers and Pettine will be in jail, if they're convicted?" Elliot wanted to know.

"Well that's part of why Casey isn't here right now. She's contacting the disciplinary committee against Pettine, so at minimum, he'll be disbarred. I charged all three of them with conspiracy to commit murder. Then the Herd brothers will still have the original charges that were set against them and Pettine will have attempted kidnapping added to his conspiracy charge since he knew that that was the original intent and just furthered the cause," Barba said.

"Sounds like a very long time," Olivia nodded.

"Oh yes. I intend to make sure of it," the ADA said firmly.

"Ok your turn," Rollins brought the conversation back to Olivia and Elliot. Olivia wished Casey was here but she couldn't wait for the redhead any longer. She was just about to open her mouth when the door opened. There was Casey and she was all smiles.

"So did the disciplinary committee follow your advice?" Carisi asked.

"The one member chuckled at me before he read my report," she frowned slightly. Her run-ins with the committee had never been good ones but Barba knew that she was the perfect one for the job, considering on how she'd turned her career around.

"As long as they are taking it seriously," Barba said.

"Oh they are," Casey assured them.

"You're just in time," Olivia smiled.

"Time for what?" The redhead was confused. The Sergeant pulled her hands out of her lap to show off the diamond ring that now adorned her finger.

"Who's the lucky guy?" Fin teased.

"Elliot asked me this morning and I said yes," she replied before giving Fin a look.

"We're having a party the minute you get out of here," Rollins said and the others agreed. They passed around congratulations before heading out. Noah snuggled into Olivia's side and began to doze off after their friends left. She kissed his head and made sure he was comfortable.

"It's all over," Elliot said, taking her hand in his.

"Not quite," she reminded him.


	22. Chapter 22

The next day, Olivia received word that Lieutenant Baker had resigned his commission and would be leaving the NYPD. It was a shame as it turned out that he had no idea his nephew had used his computer to research herself and Elliot. He found out only when IAB told him. Rather than stay on, since he wasn't guilty of anything, he decided that his presence would be a cloud over the Commissioner's chances of staying on given the upcoming mayoral election.

Elliot visited as often as he could and Lucy brought Noah by as well until the three days had passed and now the results of the biopsy would be in. To say that both Elliot and Olivia were nervous would be an understatement. Doctors Patrick and Rabadi arrived in her room just after breakfast and both looked like they were deep in thought.

"My guess is that you didn't like what you found," Olivia swallowed, grasping Elliot's hand a little harder.

"Well it's more of a good news, bad news situation," Patrick was honest.

"What's the bad news?" She asked.

"Your liver was damaged due to excessive alcohol consumption. Now we know you had no control over it and we know that it isn't likely to happen again, so we're going to get you on some more antibiotics to help clear up the inflammation. The liver is a regenerative organ and will repair itself with time, which is good because you won't be able to drink since you're having a baby," Patrick explained.

"But…" Elliot knew it was coming.

"But if it does not repair itself, we may need to look into removing the damaged portions. Of course this means, that you'd have to go on the transplant list or possibly see if someone would donate a lobe of their liver, in a living donor option," Doctor Rabadi furthered his colleague's statement.

"Oh Lord," Olivia murmured.

"That is worst case scenario. You are reasonably healthy and with the time left on your pregnancy, we believe that you'll not need to do that. The good news is that the gestational diabetes has nothing to do with your liver damage and we can treat that separately. You'll have to remain on desk duty until after you give birth but you should be able to do everything almost like you always do. I will work up a meal plan and medication information that you'll receive when you're released in a couple of days. We both want to make sure your biopsy incision is healing well before you leave," Rabadi continued.

"How will all of this affect the baby?" Elliot asked. Kathy had had her problems with her pregnancies but never one like this.

"Given that Olivia is not far along, there is really no way to tell at this point. We're being cautious about the antibiotics we're using for her liver issues but plenty of women have gestational diabetes and the babies are just fine," Patrick smiled.

"Still we want you to come in once a month for tests until you reach your eighth month and then we'll want to see you every two weeks, maybe more often depending on what we're seeing," Rabadi told them.

"Ok. What about my OB/GYN?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Continue to see her as well and we'll share our information. I know this sounds incredibly scary right now but it's best for you and the baby," Patrick said.

"Then that's what we need to do," Olivia nodded, feeling a little better about the whole thing but it was still ominous to think about all the impending visits and tests.

"It's going to be fine. Noah and I will be here the entire way," Elliot reassured her. He knew that despite her best front, the fear of handling this all alone often reared its ugly head. She was an incredibly strong woman and she hadn't had to rely on anyone for a long time but now things were moving quickly and it was a lot to digest.

"I know and you have no idea how much that means to me," she smiled slightly and gave his hand a slight squeeze. It took a lot to admit and he was glad she was opening up.

"If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. We'll be around," Patrick smiled and with that the two doctors left. Olivia looked over to her fiancé and heaved a sigh.

"Desk duty and a new Sergeant to deal with come Monday," she said.

"I know desk duty stinks but it's for the best so you can get better," Elliot reminded her.

"I have no objections but I'd like to be keeping a closer eye on Dodds. I mean I followed Carisi around out in the field before I let him do things with Rollins or Fin. Not that they couldn't handle him because they could. I wanted him to know that I was watching his every move. Screw up and he'd hear about it. He's become quite the detective and he'll make a good lawyer when he finishes school, despite what Barba thinks," she chuckled at her own joke. Barba didn't like dealing with the questions that Carisi threw at him but the budding lawyer was excited and she couldn't fault him for that.

"I'm on him, don't you worry about that," Elliot said.

"No. You'll have to report to him when I go out on maternity leave and I can't have you at each other's throats because we all know he could report things to his father Chief Dodds. Fin will have to step up and show him the ropes. Rollins will partner with Carisi and you can partner with Briscoe. He's doing his uncle proud and I want him to learn some of that information you have stored in your head," she gave him a wink.

"Can do, Lieutenant," he smirked.

"That does have a nice ring to it," she smiled.


	23. Epilogue

Olivia was exhausted but it had been worth it. Looking down to the bundle of joy she held in her arms, she marveled at everything they'd been through in the time since their release from the hospital some months ago. The doctors had delivered the healthy baby girl via C-section and despite the pain that she was in there was nothing that could bring Olivia down.

"God she is beautiful," the proud Papa murmured as he took a seat in the chair next to her hospital bed.

"She has your blue eyes," Olivia smiled back at him.

"Well let's hope she's more Benson than Stabler, when it comes to the looks department," Elliot chuckled.

"Oh so you can scare off all of her boyfriends or girlfriends when she looks like I did as a teenager?" Olivia gave him a look. She had always been a looker but at the start of high school her curves were starting to show and it made her even more noticed by the opposite sex.

"I've seen the pictures and I know what's coming. I'll just make sure I keep the twelve-gauge handy and show Noah how to use it too," Elliot teased.

"You'll do no such thing. If anyone will be kicking ass, it will be me," Olivia stuck out her tongue.

"I'm not going to argue Momma Bear Benson," he teased her again.

"Yes well its Momma Bear Stabler now," she smiled. She and Elliot had been married in a small ceremony at the courthouse shortly after she got out of the hospital following the medical issues that had arisen. They had had Don Cragen and Fin be witnesses and promised that after the birth of their baby that they'd have a party to have everyone get together. They wanted to focus on Olivia and the baby's health first. Elliot wanted to make sure that they had everything in order too before the baby was born. Both he and Olivia agreed that the sooner they got officially married the sooner insurances and other items needed for the family's well-being were in place. It wasn't the big to-do that most girls dreamed of but Olivia had no problems with it. All that really mattered was that she and Elliot were now forever linked and their children would be cared for should something happen.

"This is true and I am so lucky to have you," Elliot leaned over from his seat next to her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Don't start something that you can't finish," she teased.

"Still frisky after giving birth to an eight pound baby? Goodness gracious Mrs. Stabler," he winked.

"Considering that we haven't been able to get as close as we would have liked for the last two months, I would say yes," Olivia chuckled.

"I know being on bedrest was no fun but I think you handled it pretty well," he smiled. Luckily, Olivia's liver had been healing well and the gestational diabetes was controlled. The latter should soon go away and then things would be as they should.

"Oh my adorable little godchild!" Casey interrupted them as she came through the door and the red head was all smiles.

"Back off! Me first!" Rollins teased her before giving the ADA a gentle shove toward Olivia and the baby's direction.

"How dare you!" Casey faked indignation.

"Hey, this one is mine. Get your own," Olivia stuck her tongue out at them.

"Yeah about that…" Rollins trailed off and the little group looked at her.

"I wasn't going to bring it up but I don't know how much more I can hide it…" the blonde pulled her loose top closer to her and revealed the small bump that was there.

"I work with a bunch of detectives and no one figured it out so I figured I had a little more time to get my life in order," Rollins admitted.

"Fin, Carisi, and Dodds don't know? I mean I was on maternity leave for the last two months so at least I have an excuse," Olivia was a little shocked.

"Oh I think Carisi has his suspicions but Dodds has been keeping Fin pretty busy," the blonde explained.

"Oh?" Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"Another worry for another day. Can I hold my godchild?" Casey asked, suddenly feeling odd that she was the only one in the room without children. Olivia shook her head and laughed a little before gently handing the baby to Elliot who then handed her off to Casey.

"So what's her name?" Rollins asked glad the focus was off her for a moment.

"Grace Eleanor Stabler," Elliot smiled.

"That's a wonderful name," Casey cooed as she let little Grace take her finger in her tiny hand.

"Momma!" Noah was calling from his stroller. At almost three years old now, he had been excited about being a big brother, even if he hadn't completely comprehended what was going on.

"Oh hang on baby. Momma is really sore," she gave him a slight smile and Elliot scooped the older sibling out of his stroller before retaking his seat and letting Noah get closer to Olivia without letting him get too close to Momma's stiches.

"You want some loving too, don't you?" Olivia smiled at him and Noah beamed.

"I'd take that as a yes," Elliot chuckled.

"Oh you have your hands full," Fin said from the doorway. Everyone turned to see him.

"Look who I found wandering the streets," he chuckled as he moved aside and in popped the one and only Munch.

"I leave and the place goes to heck and a baby basket," he chuckled.

"Oh John," Casey shook her head.

"Mazel Tov, by the way. She's a cutie," Munch smiled at the little one in Casey's arms.

"She is and thank you. You guys didn't happen to see Carisi did you?" Olivia was surprised that the young man hadn't joined his colleagues. The Lieutenant figured he'd been just as excited as Olivia and Elliot were about the baby. His sister was used to babies and he really took a shine to the children which crossed their paths earlier in the year. He would make a great dad someday.

"He promised to take care of Dodds while I scooped up Munch," Fin explained.

"We really need to talk," Olivia gave him a look.

"When you're back from maternity leave, we'll talk. Right now enjoy your new bundle of joy and Munch," Fin smirked.

"I heard there was baby in here," Don Cragen said as he walked in.

"There is if you can wrestle her away from Casey," Elliot chuckled to which Casey gave him a look.

"I gave up wrestling with ADAs years ago," Don joked.

"That's good because I don't think I'm dressed for it," Barba cracked his own joke as he walked through the door.

"The nurses are just going to love this parade of people we got going on here," Fin shook his head.

"I know all of them. I think we're good," Olivia made light of her constant medical visits.

"Room for two more?" Carisi asked.

"How'd you ditch Dodds?" Fin asked.

"Told him that Briscoe here needed me to back him up on a visit to a suspect," Carisi pulled the detective into the room. Olivia shook her head at her detectives' antics. Things had changed a lot over the last six months or so but it was for the better and she wouldn't have it any other way.

**THE END**


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